Christmas Creating

This Christmas I spent so much of the season making gifts. I have a feeling that the number of presents I make is only going to increase this next year. I already have so many ideas and apparently I plan to create like it's my j-o-b.

Every year for several years, I have made the girls a Christmas gift. This year I embroidered their first initial on the pocket of these aprons I got them. I love embroidery. I always forget just how much until I start doing it again.

I have recently become obsessed with knitting socks (which deserves a post all it's own) so I decided to knit the girls both a pair. It took ages but was so satisfying. Something tells me we all have more knitted socks in our future.

Also look at the arch on that ballerina's foot. Crazy.

With my newly acquired need to knit ALL THE SOCKS, came a new obsession with project bags. This was my first, which I made for one of my favorite people. It's my first zipper ever. The Sense of personal satisfaction I have derived this year from tackling knitted socks and zippers, things that previously were so far out of my comfort zone and which I thought were out of my skill set, has made me feel like  I can accomplish anything. On the one hand it's just socks and zippers, right? But on the other hand it feels like so much more than that. It feels like overcoming fear and limitations and makes me feel like I can do anything!

This is a knitting project marker I made that doubles as a zipper pull. I figured why not since I already had all my jewelry supplies out from making the next gifts.

Necklaces! You may recall that last year I made necklaces for the girls for Christmas. All year I've been meaning to sit down and replicate their necklaces for myself and have yet to do it but I did find time to sit and make them for two very special friends in my life.

Jewelry making is addictive for me. As with every creative interest I have, putting together the colors consumes me! It often takes me hours to arrange all the beads and bits before I can even start constructing the necklace itself. It borders on insane. But the good kind of insane. Or so I tell myself!

For several years now, the girls and I have done a Christmas Eve craft. This year Maddie requested we make snow globes.

This is such a highlight of that day for me. I love watching the girls work in the studio and to see them enjoying all that the studio has to offer and to watch their creative spirits in action. It gives me so much joy! They constantly have to remind me to work on my own project because I get so caught up in watching and helping them!

Emma's snow globe:

Maddie's snow globe:

My snow globe:

All three lit up with lid inserts found on Amazon. I'm not sure if I'd recommend them as I find them not very reliable, but I'm trying to determine if that is something I'm doing wrong.

This Christmas season proved to be my most creative and satisfying and I'm looking forward to what I have a feeling will be my most creative year yet.

P.S. I got your message about not limiting the photos in my blog posts LOUD AND CLEAR! And thank you for all of your sweet and encouraging comments. I think it quite possible I would not have been able to do it anyway but it was quite lovely to hear that all these photos don't get on your nerves!